The Natural (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: A candidate for governor tries to use Steve to get a leg up.


_Mari & Ilna: What can I say? I'm enjoying this adventure every bit as much as I was on day one. Maybe more._

_REAL Worlders-thanks for all the enthusiastic support. You guys are the best._

* * *

**The Natural (1/1)**

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Captain Jack McBride said as he scouted the plaza for someone who looked like they could be goaded into a good old-fashioned public screaming match.

"Do you have a better one?" Reverend Jack Dutton snapped back.

The two men made an unlikely pair. Jack Dutton was portly and loud. He wore cheap suits and a toupee that he was convinced looked totally natural even though it was both a different color and a thicker texture than the small amount of his own hair that remained. He had never been formally ordained by any religious organization but insisted on being addressed as Reverend. He claimed he was a disciple of the Church of Hard Knocks. He'd spent most of his adult life trying to separate gullible people from their life savings. His goal had always been to stay under the radar and one step ahead of the process servers.

After wearing out his welcome on the mainland he'd arrived on Oahu several years earlier, right around the time Lea Kekoa became governor. Despite having no familiarity at all with her qualifications he had railed against her elevation to the state's highest office on street corners, at beachside stands, and in public plazas nearly every day since. It was his firm belief that politics was no place for a woman. He considered them too volatile, temperamental, and unpredictable. At least that had been the case with all three of his ex-wives. After trying and failing several times to build a groundswell of citizens supporting her removal from office, he made a decision. He would run for governor himself.

That decision brought him into the orbit of Captain Jack McBride, a man twenty years his junior with an athletic build and a full head of curly brown hair. He often dressed in camouflage and made vague references to time spent overseas, leading many on an island steeped in military history to assume he had served. He generally let that assumption stand unless pressed, when he would grudgingly admit that he picked up the nickname Captain in junior high when he was appointed captain of the junior varsity hockey team. If pressed harder, he would have been forced to admit he actually gave himself the nickname and very few people who knew him growing up in Texas ever referred to him by it.

He left the Lonestar State behind after a less than stellar college experience and headed off to Hawaii to become a professional surfer. That dream ended when he concussed himself with his own board for the third time in two years and the doctor told him that if he kept going he was risking serious brain damage. He bounced around from job to job for several years before landing a position with a local mens' rights group as a lobbyist. The day he met Jack Dutton and heard about how the reverend was having trouble getting his campaign for governor off the ground an idea was born. He would be Dutton's campaign manager. He believed he had the connections needed to help the fledgling campaign get some traction.

So far that belief had proved to be unfounded. The unlikely duo were struggling to find a platform to reach a statewide audience. The media refused to cover their town hall meetings or campaign events citing the fact that they had never even reached 1% in any reputable poll. McBride argued until he was blue in the face that all they needed was a little coverage and a place on the debate stage and all that would change. So far he'd had no luck convincing anyone. An old friend that he'd worked with at a previous job now ran the local public access tv station. He promised McBride that if he and Dutton could come up with something splashy or newsworthy he'd send a camera crew.

The eager young campaign manager passed that news along to Jack Dutton and after brainstorming for a few days the Reverend decided that his best move was to provoke a member of the public into an altercation. A situation he could then turn around and spin, positioning himself as the victim.

A man being persecuted for daring to speak the truth.

The underdog.

Everyone loves an underdog, he told himself.

He was sure that if he could just pull this off and get his message out to a wider audience large numbers of voters would throw their support behind him and carry him to victory in November.

His eyes landed on two men sitting on a bench, one holding a curly-haired toddler, and his heart leapt into his throat.

It couldn't be.

Things this good never fell in his lap.

"Call your friend from the tv station and tell him to get down here right now," Dutton said gleefully. "This is our lucky day."

McBride followed the older man's eyes until he saw what had his friend so excited. When he finally did his heart skipped a beat. He'd seen the two men on tv enough times to recognize them right away. Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams. A public incident with someone that high profile would surely get the attention of the press. His candidate's name would be on the lips of every reporter in the state. They'd have to give Dutton a seat at the table after this. The fact that McGarrett had a personal connection to Leah Kekoa and her chief of staff would make it that much more of a story.

Maybe, he thought to himself, this was a good idea after all.

He'd heard many stories of the task force commander's volatile temper. If Dutton was willing to do anything, including take a punch from the ex-SEAL, in exchange for publicity who was he to argue.

He pulled out his phone and dialed.

* * *

Catherine's phone rang as she entered the capitol building on her way back from an unscheduled meeting with a group of senators looking to get Lea's support for a measure designed to provide enhanced services for recently released inmates. Initially they had planned to introduce the bill in the spring session but had moved up their schedule when several local advocacy groups convinced them there was a better chance of passage if it was brought up during the election cycle when more people were engaged in the process.

"What's up?" she asked as she approached the first-floor elevator.

"_Where are you?"_ her assistant, Jen, asked in a somewhat urgent tone.

"I'm just getting on the elevator," Catherine replied. "Is something wrong?"

"_I'm not sure. Lea called. She wants you in her office right away."_

"Tell her I'll be right there."

* * *

"What's going on?" Catherine asked as she entered Lea's office to find the governor sitting on the couch, flanked by Marliyah and Kyle, the second in command in the Public Relations office.  
All three were staring intently at the screen of the office's television, which it had been Catherine's experience was only ever turned on in times of emergency.

"Have you talked to Steve recently?" Lea asked, not looking away from the television.

"No." Catherine's tension level skyrocketed. "Is he ok? Did something happen?" She moved quickly to stand behind Lea.

"No, he's fine." Lea looked at her chief of staff apologetically. "I didn't mean to scare you. I should have phrased that better."

When Catherine glanced at the television all she saw was Jack Dutton, bloviating once again about his views on women and their place in society. It was nothing new. He'd been doing it all over town practically since the day they took office. She'd learned to tune him out long ago. She couldn't for the life of her understand why anything he had to say was newsworthy. "Who decided to give that fool airtime and what does it have to do with Steve?" she asked as her heartbeat returned to normal.

"Jack Dutton has Steve cornered," Marliyah reported. "He's clearly trying to get Steve to say or do something he can use in a campaign ad."

"Can he even afford a campaign ad?" Catherine asked dismissively.

Leah tore her eyes away from the screen momentarily and looked at her chief of staff, who appeared totally unconcerned about the events unfolding in the plaza across town. Her own sense of dread began to subside slightly. No one knew Steve better than Catherine and she clearly wasn't worried. Maybe this wouldn't end up being a disaster for her campaign.

"I should have called him in and given him some training on how to act in the event something like this happened," Kyle fretted. "I dropped the ball on this one." He turned to Leah. "I apologize."

"Don't worry." Catherine moved an overstuffed armchair slightly so she would have a good view of the tv and took a seat. "Steve will be fine."

At that moment a harried Analise Kelani, Lea's campaign manager, hustled into the office without knocking. "How in the world did this joker even get himself on live tv?" she asked without preamble.

"He picked the right person to start a debate with." Kyle rose from his seat and began pacing behind the couch. "Anything Steve McGarrett does on this island is news."

As Lea and Marliyah remained glued to the set, Analise joined Kyle in his pacing. Catherine leaned back in her chair and smiled. She had no idea what everyone was so worked up about. There was no doubt in her mind Steve could handle this.

"We're launching the new education initiatives this weekend at the state teacher's convention," Analise said worriedly. "I really don't want that rollout to get stepped on by tabloid stories about some big confrontation accompanied by pictures of Steve punching this guy out."

Catherine shook her head. "You've got nothing to worry about."

"You haven't heard the kind of things Dutton's been saying up 'til now." Leah bit her lip and leaned forward. "He insinuated that Steve wasn't man enough to demand his wife stay at home where women belong."

Catherine rolled her eyes before her attention was drawn to the screen as Steve began to speak.

"Tell me something, Reverend. Do you consider the role of a father as important in the child's life as the role of a mother?"

"Of course I do," Dutton sputtered. "A man is the head of the family. His role in a child's development is vital."

"Then how come it is you have no problem with me having a job that sometimes takes me away from home for long hours? How come you don't question my commitment to parenthood the way you question Catherine's?"

"It is the role of a man to be the breadwinner," Dutton thundered. "Sometimes that requires making sacrifices. It is a woman's job to stay home and nurture her children."

Steve's body language was relaxed and his tone was even as he continued. "Luckily our daughter is surrounded by people who love and support her and want the best for her. Something Governor Kekoa, Catherine, and the entire staff at governor's office want for every child on the island."

"The staff at governor's office." Dutton huffed derisively. "More women than ever abandoning their roles and leaving their children behind to fuel their own egos convincing themselves they can thrive in an arena meant only for men."

Catherine could see Danny sitting on the bench behind Steve holding Angie in his lap. Every time Steve spoke Angie lit up with a smile that Catherine had no doubt was charming the viewers. Usually she would be angry Angie was being placed on camera, but she was sure this situation was not of Steve's making and there was nothing he could have done to avoid it.

"You're right." There was unmistakable pride in Steve's voice. "Governor Kekoa has 16 women in senior positions on her staff. And even more if you add in the reelection team. That's the most in the history of the state. Personally, I think they're doing a great job. I'm proud of all of them, especially Catherine of course."

Dutton pounded his fist into his palm. "Your wife is personally contributing to the breakdown of our society." His voice was almost at a yell now.

"I'm curious as to why it is you always refer to Catherine as my wife," Steve said calmly, "and never by her name. She is so much more than just an extension of me. She is the smartest, kindest, most hard-working, dedicated person I've ever met. She's a great mother, a great daughter, a great friend and a great aunt. To reduce her to nothing more than an appendage of me is an insult."

Frank McBride, watching from his position beside the camera, dropped his head and wished for the ground to open up and swallow him.

This was not going at all like he'd hoped it would.

Dutton was the one who appeared unhinged while McGarrett remained calm and landed blow after blow. He had been prepared to deal with a physical punch, but these blows were much worse. This was not going to win Dutton any points with the average voter.

Meanwhile, back at the capitol, all eyes in Lea's office turned to Catherine, who just smiled.

"Ummm...I'm thinking that husband of yours might be better at this than I thought," Kyle chuckled as he stopped pacing and returned to his seat.

"What do you think the chances are that we can get him out on the trail appearing a few campaign events?" Analise asked excitedly.

On the plaza Steve moved on to touting Lea's after school and job retraining programs, complete with the latest statistics. "The governor accomplished all of that in less than a full term," he smiled. "Just imagine what she'll be able to do once she's reelected."

Lea beamed. "I should have never doubted him. He took that man down without breaking a sweat. I'm not even sure if Lance could pull out the facts and figures Steve just did. And off the top of his head to boot."

Catherine beamed. "He's an excellent listener."

On the tv screen was a shot of Steve holding a giggling Angie who had her hands on his cheeks.

"That's not gonna do anything to turn off the hordes of women trying to get his attention," Marliyah pointed out.

"That's ok, we can work with that." Analise was in full planning mode. "We'll send him out to events where he can connect with female voters." All heads turned towards the campaign manager. "If he's willing of course," she added. "And if it's ok with you," she said to Catherine.

"I'll talk to him and let you know," Catherine said.

"Tell him I said pretty please," Analise begged. "That man is a natural."

**THE END**

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